System Requirements for Online Testing

Transcription

1 Delaware System of Student Assessments System Requirements for Online Testing Published August 21, 2018 Prepared by the American Institutes for Research Descriptions of the operation of the Test Information Distribution Engine, Test Delivery System, and related systems are property of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and are used with the permission of AIR.

2 Table of Contents Section I. Introduction... 1 Organization of this Manual... 1 Other Resources... 1 Section II. Supported Operating Systems for Student Testing... 2 Desktops and Laptops... 2 Tablets... 4 Chromebooks and Chromebases... 4 Thin Clients: NComputing and Terminal Servers for Windows... 5 NComputing... 5 Terminal Servers... 6 Section III. Supported Web Browsers for Online Systems... 7 Supported Web Browsers by Operating System... 7 Secure Browsers for Online Testing... 9 Delaying Firefox Updates Available Audio Settings by Browser Section IV. Requirements for Peripheral Equipment Monitors and Screen Display Requirements Screen Dimensions Screen Resolution Keyboards Mice Headsets and Headphones Appendix A. Operating System Support Plan for Test Delivery System Timing of Secure Browser Updates Support Plan for Operating Systems Appendix B. User Support Appendix C. Change Log ii

3 Table of Tables Table 1. Supported Desktop Operating Systems... 2 Table 2. Supported Tablets and Operating Systems... 4 Table 3. Supported Chromebooks... 5 Table 4. Supported NComputing solutions... 5 Table 5. Supported terminal servers... 6 Table 6. Supported Web Browsers by Operating System... 7 Table 7. Secure Browsers by Operating System... 9 Table 8. Available Audio Settings by Browser Table 9. Supported Headphones and Headsets Table 1. Supported Operating Systems iii

4 Section I. Introduction This document contains basic technology requirements for online testing using American Institutes for Research s (AIR) systems for the test administration. Organization of this Manual This document contains the following sections: Supported Operating Systems for Student Testing Supported Web Browsers for Online Systems Requirements for Peripheral Equipment Other Resources The following publications provide additional information: For information about installing secure browsers, refer to the Secure Browser Installation Manual. For information about network and Internet requirements, general peripheral and software requirements, and configuring text-to-speech settings, see the Technical Specifications Manual for Online Testing. For information about securing a computer before a test session, see the Test Administrator User Guide. For information about supported hardware and software for Braille testing as well as information about configuring JAWS, refer to the Braille Requirements and Testing Manual. The above resources, as well as secure browsers and user guides for other systems, are available on the Delaware System of Student Assessments portal (de.portal.airast.org). 1

5 Section II. Supported Operating Systems for Student Testing This section describes the supported operating systems for online testing. For optimal performance, AIR expects all systems to have the latest minor updates and patches installed. Major updates including new versions require review and testing. Warning: Support for New Major Versions of Supported Operating Systems New major versions of supported operating systems must be tested by AIR before they can be used for online testing. Do not upgrade to new major versions before support is officially announced. AIR also recommends you disable auto-updates to keep systems from upgrading automatically. Desktops and Laptops Table 1 lists the operating systems and hardware required for student testing. Online testing functions effectively with the minimum requirements listed. However, the recommended specifications provide improved performance. Table 1. Supported Desktop Operating Systems Supported Operating Systems Minimum Requirements b Recommended Specifications Windows 7 SP1 (Professional & Enterprise) 8 (Professional & Enterprise) 8.1 (Professional & Enterprise) 10, 10 in S mode (Educational, Professional & Enterprise) (Versions , 1809 a ) Server 2008 R2, 2012 R2, 2016 R2 (thin client) Mac a 1 GHZ Processor 1 GB RAM (32-bit) 2 GB RAM (64-bit) 16 GB hard drive (32-bit) 20 GB hard drive (64-bit) 1 GHZ Processor 1 GB RAM (32-bit) 2 GB RAM (64-bit) 16 GB hard drive (32-bit) 20 GB hard drive (64-bit) 1.4 GHZ Processor 2 or more GB RAM 16 or more GB hard drive space 1.4 GHZ Processor 2 or more GB RAM 16 or more GB hard drive space 2

6 Supported Operating Systems for Student Testing Supported Operating Systems Minimum Requirements b Recommended Specifications Linux (64-bit or 32-bit) Fedora LTS (Gnome) Ubuntu 14.04, LTS (Gnome) Linux (64-bit only) Ubuntu LTS (Gnome) 1 GHZ Processor 1 GB RAM (32-bit) 2 GB RAM (64-bit) 16 GB hard drive (32-bit) 20 GB hard drive (64-bit) Required libraries/packages: GTK or higher GLib 2.22 or higher Pango 1.14 or higher X.Org 1.0 or higher (1.7+ recommended) libstdc or higher libreadline6:i386 (required for Ubuntu only) GNOME 2.16 or higher 1 GHZ Processor 2 GB RAM 20 GB hard drive In addition to all libraries and packages listed above, Ubuntu LTS (Gnome) also requires the following libraries: Sox Net-tools 1.4 GHZ Processor 2 or more GB RAM 16 or more GB hard drive space Recommended libraries/ packages: In addition to the required libraries listed under minimum requirements, the following should be installed: NetworkManager 0.7 or higher DBus 1.0 or higher HAL or higher 1.4 GHZ Processor 2 or more GB RAM 16 or more GB hard drive space a Support for this version is anticipated upon the completion of testing following its release. b ARM-powered devices such as the Raspberry Pi are not supported for online testing. 3

7 Supported Operating Systems for Student Testing Tablets Table 2 lists the supported tablets, operating systems, and related requirements. See the Technical Specifications Manual for Online Testing for information about configuring these devices for online testing. Table 2. Supported Tablets and Operating Systems Supported Operating Systems ios (ipads) 10.3, 11.4, 12 a Android b 7.1, 8.1, 9 a Windows 8 (Professional & Enterprise) 8.1 (Professional & Enterprise 10 (Educational, Professional, & Enterprise) Supported Tablets 4 th Generation (Retina Display) 5 th Generation (Retina Display) ipad Air ipad Air 2 ipad Pro Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10 Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 Asus ZenPad Z10 AIR supports any tablet running these versions of Windows, but has done extensive testing only on Surface Pro, Surface Pro 3, Asus Transformer, and Dell Venue. a Support for this version is anticipated upon the completion of testing following its release. b Amazon Fire tablets are not supported for online testing. Chromebooks and Chromebases Table 3 lists the supported operating systems for Chromebooks and Chromebases. About Chrome OS and Automatic Updates While AIR actively works to support new versions of the Chrome operating system as they come out, we recommend disabling automatic updates until new versions are listed as supported. Disabling automatic updates allows AIR to review changes and address any updates that pose a potential risk to student testing. Automatic update settings are configured in Google s admin console. 4

8 Supported Operating Systems for Student Testing Table 3. Supported Chromebooks Supported Operating Systems Chrome OS 67+ Supported Chromebooks AIR will support any device that Google actively supports for auto-update. AIR will not support any device that Google does not support for auto-update. Information on Google's autoupdate policy, including currently supported devices, can be found at Chromebooks Manufactured in 2017 or later Due to recent changes by Google, users with Chromebooks manufactured in 2017 or later who do not have an Enterprise or Education license will not be able to use those machines for assessments. Google no longer allows users without these licenses to set up kiosk mode, which is necessary to run the AIR Secure Browser. This change restricting kiosk mode does not affect the Chrome operating system. You can still use any version of Chrome OS on hardware manufactured in 2016 or earlier. Warning: Chrome OS Tablet Mode Not Supported Chrome OS includes a feature called tablet mode, which offers a touchscreen environment for supported Chromebooks and for Chrome OS tablets. AIR does not support the use of tablet mode for testing but does support touchscreen features on Chromebooks when available. Thin Clients: NComputing and Terminal Servers for Windows NComputing Table 4 lists the supported hardware and software for NComputing solutions. Table 4. Supported NComputing solutions Supported Server Host Supported Server Software Supported Terminal Windows Server 2008 R2 vspace Server 8.4 L300, firmware version 1.12.xx Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2016 R2 Windows 10 vspace PRO 10 L300, L350, M300, firmware version 1.13.xx 5

9 Supported Operating Systems for Student Testing Terminal Servers Table 5 lists the supported terminal servers for use with a thin client machine. Table 5. Supported terminal servers Supported Terminal Servers Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012 R2, 2016 R2 Supported Thin Client Any thin client that supports a Windows Server. Warning: Security Issues with Terminal Services or Remote Desktop Connections to Servers Using a terminal services or remote desktop connection to access a Windows Server or workstation that has the secure browser installed is typically not a secure test environment. 6

10 Section III. Supported Web Browsers for Online Systems This section lists the supported web browsers for the test year. It also addresses AIR s secure browsers for student testing. Supported Web Browsers by Operating System Table 6 lists the supported operating systems and corresponding web browsers for each AIR application. AIR recommends using recent versions of supported web browsers. Each application requires disabling pop-up blocking software and enabling JavaScript. Be sure to use the correct combination of operating system and web browser. For example, Windows 10 requires Chrome 67+, Firefox 52+, or Edge. Table 6. Supported Web Browsers by Operating System Operating Systems Browsers TA Sites, Student Practice Tests (non-elpa21), DEI (non-elpa21), AVA (non-elpa21), THSS ELPA21 Student Practice Tests, ELPA21 DEI TIDE, ORS Windows 7 SP1 (Professional & Enterprise) 8 (Professional & Enterprise) 8.1 (Professional & Enterprise) 10 (Educational, Professional, & Enterprise) (Versions , 1809 a ) 10 in S mode (Educational, Professional, & Enterprise) (Versions , 1809 a ) Chrome 67+ Firefox 52+ Chrome 67+ Firefox 52+ Chrome 67+ Firefox 52+ Edge Edge Mac a Chrome 67+ Firefox 52+ Safari 9+ 7

11 Supported Web Browsers for Online Systems Operating Systems Browsers TA Sites, Student Practice Tests (non-elpa21), DEI (non-elpa21), AVA (non-elpa21), THSS ELPA21 Student Practice Tests, ELPA21 DEI TIDE, ORS Linux Fedora LTS (Gnome) Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, LTS (Gnome) Chrome 67+ Firefox 52+ Chrome 67+ Firefox 52+ ios 10.3 Safari Safari a Safari 12 a Android 7.1, 8.1, 9 a Chrome 67+ Chrome OS 67+ Chrome 67+ a Support for this version is anticipated upon the completion of testing following its release. 8

12 Supported Web Browsers for Online Systems Secure Browsers for Online Testing Table 7 lists the AIR secure browsers for each operating system. A secure browser must be downloaded and installed on each computer used for student testing. Districts that installed a secure browser with a version older than the versions listed below must uninstall it before installing the secure browser for the school year. For instructions on downloading and installing the secure browsers, refer to the Secure Browser Installation Manual. Table 7. Secure Browsers by Operating System Operating Systems Secure Browser Windows 7 SP1 (Professional & Enterprise) 8 (Professional & Enterprise) 8.1 (Professional & Enterprise) 10 (Educational, Professional, & Enterprise) (Versions , 1809 a ) Server 2008 R2, 2012 R2, 2016 R2 (thin client) Windows 10, 10 in S mode (Educational, Professional, & Enterprise) (Versions , 1809 a ) 10.3 Take a Test app Mac a 10.3 Linux Fedora LTS (Gnome) Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, LTS (Gnome) ios (ipads) 10.3, 11.4, 12 a Android 7.1, 8.1, 9 a Chrome OS AIRSecureTest Mobile Secure Browser 5 AIRSecureTest Mobile Secure Browser 5 AIRSecureTest kiosk application 5 a Support for this version is anticipated upon the completion of testing following its release. 9

13 Supported Web Browsers for Online Systems Delaying Firefox Updates AIR conducts quality assurance on the most recent Firefox versions for each system except the Student Testing Site (which requires the secure browser). You should wait before installing new versions of Firefox, which could impact system performance. Delaying updates allows AIR time to review changes and verify each system works correctly with the new version. To learn how to disable auto-updates for Firefox, see forum-response-turning-auto-update. You may need to disable auto-updates again after installing a newer version. Available Audio Settings by Browser Some test items play audio files, and some students have the text-to-speech (TTS) accommodation. In either case, the student should be able to adjust the audio settings for those items. Table 8 lists the browsers and their associated capability to modify such settings. Use Table 8 to ensure that you deploy a browser with the required capability. Table 8. Available Audio Settings by Browser Operating System Browser System Volume TTS Volume TTS Pitch TTS Rate Pause Resume Windows Secure browser Y Y Y Y Y Y Edge N N N N N N Chrome a Y Y Y Y N N Firefox N Y Y Y N N Mac Secure browser Y Y Y Y Y Y Safari N N N N N N Chrome a Y Y Y Y N N Linux b Secure browser Y Y Y Y Y Y Firefox N N N N N N Chrome a Y Y Y Y N N ios Mobile secure browser N Y Y Y N N Safari N N N N N N Android Mobile secure browser N N N N N N Chrome a Y Y Y Y N N 10

14 Supported Web Browsers for Online Systems Operating System Browser System Volume TTS Volume TTS Pitch TTS Rate Pause Resume Chromebook Secure browser N Y Y Y N N Chrome a Y Y Y Y N N a TTS features for practice tests are available on Chrome only if the client explicitly enables them. b TTS Tracking is not available on Linux. 11

15 Section IV. Requirements for Peripheral Equipment This section describes the requirements for peripheral equipment: monitors, screens, keyboards, and headphones. Monitors and Screen Display Requirements All supported computers, laptops, netbooks, and tablets must meet the following requirements. Screen Dimensions Screen dimensions must be 10" or larger (ipads with a 9.7" display are included). This means the following devices are not supported: Apple ipad Mini Google Nexus 7 and similar-sized Android tablets Netbooks with screen dimensions smaller than 10" Screen Resolution All devices must meet the following minimum resolution. Larger resolutions can be applied as appropriate for the monitor or screen being used. Desktops, laptops, and tablets: Netbooks: Depending on the screen size, students may need to use vertical or horizontal scroll bars to view all test-related information. Students may also use the Zoom tool in the online test to enlarge the content on the screen. 12

16 Requirements for Peripheral Equipment Keyboards External keyboards are strongly recommended for tablets used for testing, and some states require external keyboards for such devices. Students may use mechanical, manual, and Bluetooth-based keyboards. Some external keyboards have additional shortcut buttons that can create security issues. These buttons may allow students to open another application or the tablet s default on-screen keyboard. AIR strongly cautions against using keyboards that have these shortcut buttons. Keyboards with Android The Android mobile secure browser requires the secure browser keyboard to disable predictive text. Therefore, any external keyboard that has a shortcut button to open the tablet s default keyboard is not permitted, as this default keyboard will override the mobile secure browser keyboard. AIR has determined that the EZOWare Slim Full Size Keyboard contains a shortcut button that opens the default keyboard and should NOT be used with Android tablets. Mice Mice on mobile devices are not supported. Wireless or wired two- or three-buttoned mice that are compatible with the operating system on desktops and laptops are supported. No other mice should be used, especially mice equipped with a browser back button that could potentially kick users out of a test. Headsets and Headphones Students may need headphones to listen to audio in online assessments, and may use headsets to record answers to tests. Below are some scenarios that require headphones or headsets. Students with the text-to-speech accommodation can use headphones to listen to stimuli or to test items being read aloud. Students with the enhanced accessibility accommodation can use headphones along with Job Access with Speech (JAWS ) or other screen reading software to complete online tests. Each NComputing terminal must have a USB headphone or headset when used for tests that require students to record or listen to audio. Students participating in ELPA21 must have a headset (with a microphone) to record responses to speaking items. Test Coordinators should determine how many students will need headphones to ensure that there are enough available at the time of a test. 13

17 Requirements for Peripheral Equipment Table 9 lists the supported headphones and headsets. Table 9. Supported Headphones and Headsets Model Connector Microphone Included Hardware Logitech 390 USB (wired) Yes All supported desktops, laptops, and Chromebases with USB port. Panasonic RP-HT21 XBS No All supported desktops, laptops, and Chromebases with XBS port. Logitech analog 3.5 mm No ios, Android tablets with 3.5 mm port. Plantronics mm* Yes All supported desktops, laptops, and Chromebases with 3.5 mm port except NComputing terminals. Sennheiser PC mm* Yes All supported desktops, laptops, and Chromebases with 3.5 mm port except NComputing terminals. Plantronics mm* Yes All supported desktops, laptops, and Chromebases with 3.5 mm port except NComputing terminals. Generic headphones 3.5 mm No All supported desktops, laptops, and Chromebases with 3.5 mm port except NComputing terminals. Generic headphones USB (wired) No All supported desktops, laptops, and Chromebases with USB port. *These models have two connectors, one each for headphone and microphone. They require a 3.5 mm headphone splitter when used with a computer having a single speaker-microphone port. 14

18 Requirements for Peripheral Equipment Appendix A. Operating System Support Plan for Test Delivery System Timing of Secure Browser Updates AIR will support major and minor version upgrades for Windows, Mac, Linux, ios, Android, and Chrome OS upon the completion of internal testing following their release. AIR may provide Secure Browser updates for new major and minor version upgrades of Windows, Mac, Linux, ios, Android, and Chrome OS if necessary. Support Plan for Operating Systems Table 10 lists the operating systems and the anticipated end-of-support dates. The shaded cells in Table 10 indicate the following: Yellow shading AIR ends support for operating systems after the school year. Gray shading AIR ends support for operating systems after the school year. Table 10. Supported Operating Systems Supported Operating System Release Date Anticipated End-of-Support Date Notes Windows a 7 SP1 (Professional & Enterprise) 8 (Professional & Enterprise) 8.1 (Professional & Enterprise) 10, 10 in S mode (Educational, Professional, & Enterprise (Versions , 1809 c ) Oct Oct Oct July 2015 End of School End of School End of School End of School AIR s support for Windows operating systems ends ten school years after its release date. For the most part, this coincides with Microsoft s official endof-life policies for its operating systems. Server 2008 R2 Oct End of School Server 2012 R2 Oct End of School Server 2016 R2 Oct End of School Mac a 10.9 Oct End of School 15

19 Requirements for Peripheral Equipment Supported Operating System Release Date Anticipated End-of-Support Date Notes Oct End of School Sept End of School Sept End of School Sept End of School As long as Apple continues to release new versions of Mac OS annually, AIR will support the six latest versions for any given school year. Support for Mac OS X 10.9 will end upon the release and testing of macos c Pending End of School Linux Error! Reference source not found. Fedora 27 LTS (Gnome) Nov End of School Fedora 28 LTS (Gnome) May 2018 End of School Official Fedora support typically ends one to two years after a release. Ubuntu LTS (Gnome) Ubuntu LTS (Gnome) April 2014 April 2016 End of School End of School Ubuntu typically supports long term support (LTS) distributions for five years after a release. Ubuntu LTS (Gnome) April 2018 End of School ios c Sept. 2016; rolling AIR supports the three most recent major releases of ios. Supported ipads: 4 th Generation (Retina Display) 5 th Generation (Retina Display) ipad Air ipad Air 2 ipad Pro Android c Aug. 2016; rolling AIR supports the three most recent major releases of Android. Supported tablets: Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10 Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 Asus ZenPad Z10 16

20 Requirements for Peripheral Equipment Supported Operating System Release Date Anticipated End-of-Support Date Notes Chrome OS d 67+ June 2018; rolling For any given school year AIR will support the latest version of Chrome OS available during the summer months and all subsequent versions until the following summer. For example; if Chrome 67 is released in July, it and all versions of Chrome after it will be supported until July of the following year. Google releases new versions of Chrome OS every six weeks. Support may require updating the Chrome kiosk application. a If Microsoft or Apple ends support for an operating system sooner than six years after its release, then AIR will stop supporting that system one full school year after support ends. b For Linux distributions, AIR will end support at the end of a full school year after the official distributor s announced end-of-life support date. c Support for this version is anticipated upon the completion of testing following its release. d AIR will support any device that Google actively supports for auto-update. AIR will not support any device that Google does not support for auto-update. Information on Google's auto-update policy, including currently supported devices, can be found at 17

21 Appendix B. User Support If this document does not answer your questions, please contact the Delaware System of Student Assessments Help Desk. The help desk will be open Monday Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (except holidays). Delaware System of Student Assessments Help Desk Toll-Free Phone Support: Support: When contacting the help desk, provide the representative with as much detail as possible about the issue(s) encountered and the system on which it occurred. The following information should be provided when reporting any incidents or issues: Include the following information: TA name and IT/network contact person and contact information SSIDs of affected students o Do NOT provide any other student information, as doing so may violate Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policies. Results ID for the affected student tests Test session ID List of embedded accessibility features Test name and grade Question number Operating system and browser version information Any error messages and codes that appeared, if applicable Information about your network configuration: o Secure browser installation (to individual machines or network) o Wired or wireless Internet network setup 18

22 Appendix C. Change Log Change Date 19